The C-E-O of a Cedar Rapids-based avionics company says the economic recovery in the airline industry might last up to five years. Clayton Jones, C-E-O of Rockwell Collins, says folks always over-estimate the duration of a downturn, and under-estimate the upturn in aviation. Jones says if the economy says as strong as predicted, then business trips will pick up and Americans, in general, will feel comfortable once again with air travel — forces he believes could fuel a recovery of between three and five years. Jones says one way his firm has profitted during the recent “tough period” in the airline industry is a shift to landing more government defense contracts. Jones says Rockwell Collins is on a “positive trajectory” managing in the midst of the recovery.
